Is the Money I Earned from Selling a Book with Missing Pages Haram?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

I sold a book with missing pages due to a printing error without informing the buyer. Is the money I earned haram?

Answer

I pray you are well.

You could be sinful for what you did.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“Whoever deceives us is not from us.” [Muslim]

This was in the context of someone selling flour that had wet flour under dry flour that the customer was unlikely to see. Deceiving people is not the way of Muslims.

Although the sale is valid, and if the customer is happy with it despite knowing of the fault, the income is halal. If he wants to cancel the sale and get a refund you would have to do that. [Quduri, al-Mukhtasar]

You should probably contact him and tell him.

It’s better to be safe from such potentially costly claims on the Day of Judgement.

May Allah facilitate the matter for you.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.